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Gears of War and Gears of War 2 were massive successes. Both ended on cliffhangers that teased another installment. To assume Gears of War 3 is coming eventually is to assume the sun is coming up tomorrow morning. Yet, as of today, Gears of War 3 hasn't been confirmed and Epic Games has been tight-lipped about what the studio is up to. As is usually the case in this situation, leave it to the rumor mill to spin out where Gears of War 3 will land. According to Edge, it's coming on April 8, 2011.

Epic Games VP Mark Rein confirmed to me at last week's Game Developers Conference that Epic Games isn't releasing any games in 2010. Since Electronic Arts has scheduled the Epic Games and People Can Fly shooter collaboration until early next year, we can presume that both Gears of War 3 and Shadow Complex 2 -- both games we're simply assuming are in development based on the success of previous installments -- are not coming during 2010.

"We don't have any games coming out in 2010," said Rein, "so from a games standpoint, it's more about our customers' games, right?"

The Edge rumor alleges a teaser trailer would drop in a few weeks, beginning the hype train for the return of Marcus Fenix and the release of Gears of War 3 a year later. Rein issued a brief, unsurprisingly sarcastic response to VG247 about the circulating Gears of War 3 rumor.

Designer Cliff Bleszinski has hinted at Gears of War 3 previously but said very little of substance.

"There have only been two Gears games," Bleszinski to OXM last June. "There are still plenty of opportunities for things you can do in a cover-based shooter and there are still a lot of stories to tell in the Gears universe. I'm not burned out with the franchise at all."

Officially, we remain where we started. Gears of War 3 is presumed to be in development, but everyone involved in the production isn't ready to say that's actually true just yet. The longer Epic Games and Microsoft choose to remain silent, the more rumors that will continue to fly. Take it with a grain of salt.